Separable gun carriage



Jan. 15 1924.

B. P. JOYCE EPARABLE GUN CARRIAGE Filed Oct. 1, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR ATTORNEY -Jm CE.

Jan. 15, 1924.

B. P. JOYCE SEPARABLE GUN CARRIAGE 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 1,

INVENTOR L5H n'R-Jgjce ATTORNEY Patented 15, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

BRYAN P. JOYCE, OF DAVENPORT, IOWA.

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Application filed October 1, 1923. Serial Io. 665,869.

(FILED UNDER THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1 888, 22 STAT. L, 625.)

To allwkom it may conoem:

Be it known that I, BRYAN citizen of the United States, and a residentof- Davenport, county. of Scott and State 5 of Iowa have invented anImprovement in separable Gun Carriages, of which thefollowing isaspecification. w

The invention described herein may be used by the Government,.or'any ofits ofiicers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, orby any other person in the United States, without payment to me of anyr0 alty thereon, in accordance with the act of arch 3, 1883.

The present invention relates to separable gun carriages andparticularly to that type of carriage adapted to accompany infantrytroops on the advance. The primary object of my invention is D theprovision of a, gun carriage which may be knocked down for conveniencein transportation.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a gun carriage inwhich the 5 traversing mechanism is embodied in the means for connectingthe gun carriage pro er to the support therefor.

ith the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel arv rangement and combination of parts and in the details ofconstruction hereinafter de- I scribed and claimed, it being understoodthat changes in the precise embodiment o the inventlon'herein disclosedmay be made i within the sec e of What claimed without departing rom thespirit of the invention. i A practical'embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: j v

Fig. 1 is a plan'view of the gun carriage; Fig. 2 is a view in sideelevation;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional vlew showing the elevating and traversingmechanism;'

and

Fig. 4 is a detailsectional view ,of the elevatin mechanism.

lie erring tothe drawing by numerals of reference: I have shown at5-agun carriage support- P. JOYCE, a.

ed in its firing osition by a spade 6 and carriage wheelsconnected'together by an axle 8. The spade is provided with alinedapertures!) adapted to receive a pin to lock the spade upon the limberin travel.

In the preferred embodiment of my 1nvention the gun carriage is providedwith trail members 10 and llwhich are attached at one end to the spade6. These trail members are made of an le iron and are trunnioned bymeans of 13 of a housing 14. The housing 14 is adapted to receive thecarriage axle which is screw threaded as at 15 for a'portion of itslength. One of the sleeves of the axle I housing is threaded as at 16 toengage with the threads on the axle so as to traverse the axle housingand the trail members connected1 theretoon the 'axle on rotation of theax e.

The wheels 7 are journaled on the axle inthe usual manner and areretained thereon by offsets 17 on the axle against which the inner sidesof the Wheel hubs seat and by nuts 18 threaded on the axle and seatingagainst the outersides of these hubs. At

one endthe axle is rovided with an extension 19 and squared on thisextension is a hand wheel 20 for manipulating the axle to traverse thetrails.

In the referred embodiment of my invention t e housing 14 intermediatethe f trail members 10 and 11 is formed with a chamber 21 separated by aartition- 22 from the axle housing proper. is adapted to contain theelevating mechanism for the gun which in the preferred embodiment of my.invention comprises a series of telescoping members "23, he outerrackets 12 on sleeves his chamber 21 members 23 and 23 of which a ehollow and internally and externally screw-thread;

ed to engage with one another and. the inner member 23 of which isexternally screw threaded and adapted to intermesh with the internalthreads of the next succeeding member 23".

t While I have chosen to employ three such telescoping membersE23, 1t

The outer telescoping member 23* is screw-threaded into a sleeve 24 towhich is fixed a gear 25 meshing with a gear 26 mounted in a housing 27secured on the chamber 21. The gear 26 is keyed on a shaft 28 on whichis squared a hand wheel 29 formanipulating the elevating mechanism. Acap 30 secured to one end of the chamber 21 prevents movement of thesleeve 24 in the chamber in one direction, the partition 22 preventingmovement in the opposite direction.

The outermost of the telescoping members 23 is provided with an aperture31 adapted to receive a key 32 attached by means of a chain 33 to thegun cradle 36. This key passes through the aperture 31 and registeringapertures 34 formed in lugs 35 on the gun cradle 36.

The gun barrel 37 may be mounted on the cradle in any suitable manner.As shown a casing 38 is provided which is adapted to enclose the gunbarrel. On either side of the cradle are attached angle iron members 40which extend rearwardly of the cradle and are fastened by means ofY-elips 41 to a trunnion 42 mounted in brackets 43' on the trail members10 and 11. The Y-clips are detachably secured to the trunnion by meansof pins 44 passed through registering apertures in the clips andtrunnion and secured by means of chains 45 to the rearwardly extendingarms 40. With a cradle mounting such as described the cradle inelevation is adapted to move in an arc whose center is the trunnion '42.

The gun-barrel may be fastened to the cradle against removal in travelor preferably may be releasably fastened thereto in a manner such asdescribed in my co-pending application Serial No. 665,867, filed October'1, 1923.

Any suitable recoil mechanism ma be employed for counteracting therecoil of the gun, when fired. As shown a cylinder 46 is secured to thecasing 38. A piston 47 is reciprocally mounted in this cylinder andsecured to the gun barrel by means of the locking member 48 hinged atone end between lugs 50 formed on the'gun barrel and secured in lockingposition between said lugs'by means of a spring pressed plunger 51mounted in a lug on the gun barrel.- In

this manner the piston is secured'to thegun barrel so as to movetherewith in recoil and in counter recoil.

The usual sighting mechanism 52 is provided and the sighting mechanismis carried on the trail member 11 which trail member extends somewhatbeyond the axle 8 and is secured to said trail member'by a bracket 53ivoted to the trail member.

' ovement of the gun-is transmitted to the sight by means of a bracket54 fixedly secured to the trunnion 42 and connected by links 55 and 56to the sight bracket.

The gun may be adjusted by manipulation of the hand wheel 20 and 29 forfiring and may be knocked down for transport for carriage by mules orthe troops serving the gun. In order to separate the parts of the as oneload, the cradle and casing as another load, the trail members and spadeas a third load and the axle, wheels and sight is a fourth load.

I claim:

1. A separable gun carriage, including a trail, a gun cradle supportedon the trail,

wheels for said carriage, an axle connecting said wheels, an axlehousing fast on said trail and adapted to receive said axle, cooperatingmeans on the axle and axle housing for traversing said trail, means insaid axle housing for elevating said gun, means for detachablyconnecting said cradle to said elevating means, a trunnion on the trailand means for detachably connecting said cradle to said trunnion.

2. A separable gun carriage, including a trail, a gun cradle supportedon said trail, means for supporting said trail, a member connecting saidtrail to said support, a

housing on said trail to receive said connecting member, cooperatingmeans on said housing and connecting member for traversing said trail,means in said housing for elevating the gun, means for detachablyconnecting the gun cradle to the elevating means, means for hingedlyconnecting the cradle to the trail and means for detachably connectingthe cradle to said hinge means.

3. A separable gun carriage, including a trail, wheels for supportingthe carriage,

an axle connecting said wheels, an axle housing fast onsaid trail andadapted to receive said axle, cooperating means on the axle and axlehousing for traversin the trail, a gun cradle, means for detac ablyconnecting the gun cradle to the axle housing and means detachablyconnecting the gun cradle to the'trail.

4. A separable gun carriage including a trail, a gun cradle supportedonsaid trail, wheels for said carriage, an axle connecting said wheels,an axle housing fast on said trail and adapted to receive said axle, co-

operating means on the axle housing ,and

axle for traversing the trail and means in said axle hous ng forelevating the gun.

ma am g 5. A separable gun carriage including a trunnion on said trail,means rigidly contrail, means for supporting the trail, means meetingsaid cradle to said trunnion, a bar connecting said trail toits support,a housattached to said trunnion and movable 10 ing on said trail adaptedto receive said therewith and a sight attached to said bar iconnectingmeans, an elevating mechanism whereby movement of said gun cradle is insaid housing, a cradle, means connecting transmitted to said sight. saidcradle to the elevating mechanism, a BRYAN P. JOYCE.

